The Aftermath of Sagara Sanosuke's Graduation Party
by Always RuroKen
Summary: (Modern AU) Sano's graduation party is a fun time. There's karaoke, all of our friends and lots and lots of alcohol (Well, this is Sano we're talking about, after all) So what happens when Misao gets drunk off her ass and decides to seduce her Aoshi-sama?


It was late, somewhere close to midnight. The air was slightly chilly, and the stars were invisible in the purplish city sky.

Everyone was drunk off their asses. Sagara Sanosuke had somehow passed university, which required a graduation party. Sano always found excuses to party, getting ridiculously drunk, singing karaoke, and roping in his friends.

Somehow, the party ended up in Aoshi's apartment. Needless to say, the former was not too happy about that, but the seemingly cold and emotionless man had obliged his friend, indulging for once in making the rooster-headed idiot even happier than usual.

The party was in full swing. Sanosuke invited only close friends – and Kenshin, Kaoru, Misao, Katsu, Megumi and obviously Aoshi had showed up, and were getting outrageously drunk together. Except for Aoshi of course, who sat on the edge of the couch and drank tea, throwing in a word or two into conversations. He said that he had no tolerance for alcohol, and so Sanosuke gave up trying to persuade him and poured himself another drink.

Sano had rented a karaoke machine, and he and Katsu performed several songs, much to the amusement of the onlookers. Sanosuke was enjoying himself immensely, drinking, singing, trying to dance, making out with Megumi, and constantly saying, "I can't believe I actually fuckin' graduated."

He asked Misao to record his 'awesome singing' on her phone, and Misao obliged the rooster-head, turning on video mode and leaving the phone on the table. No-one bothered to turn it off record for the entire night.

Kenshin had several drinking competitions, which he lost – and spent his time at the party refusing to sing, congratulating Sano and pouring assorted alcohol for Kaoru who was determined to get more drunk than Sanosuke. "Kaoru-dono… This one knows that is not a good idea, indeed it isn't…"

"Shut up! Pour me more!" She downed the contents of the glass and slammed it down on the table. "Now kiss me, idiot."

"Ororo-"

The two, Kenshin and Kaoru, had left at around one o'clock, Kenshin carrying the unconscious tanuki-girl out in his arms. They got a ride from Tae, who just shook her head. "You guys are all idiots." She said brightly. "But congratulations on passing university, Sanosuke-san!"

"This one is grateful, truly."

Megumi was enjoying herself almost as much as Sanosuke was. She had sung karaoke before she had gotten drunk – and she had sung very well. She was not as drunk as everyone else, and was simply slightly tipsy. She giggled as Sano pulled her into his lap, swatting away his hands. "Not yet, idiot!"

"Aww… You're so cruel, Vixen!"

Misao, on the other hand had a very low tolerance for alcohol. She tried singing, but after a comment from Sano, Aoshi pulled her off him, preventing the 'weasel-girl' from pulling his hair out. She had drank more than she had ever before, since she was usually not able to. The first half of the party, she had spent drinking and laughing, watching Sanosuke's attempts at break-dancing. "Hah! You're an idiot! Eheheh. He's an idiot, right, Aoshi-sama?"

"Aa." He looked at her fondly. "You too."

" _He-ey!_ " but her anger was replaced with a smile and an unfocussed wink with both eyes. "But I know ya love me, yeah, Aoshi-sama?"

Aoshi simply ruffled her hair, cleared his throat and avoided her gaze.

During the second half, she drank a bit more, (Aoshi stopping her at her third glass) had a laughing fit, during which Sanosuke looked genuinely worried, then curled up into a ball on the couch and fell asleep.

By the time it was three o'clock, Katsu had passed out in Megumi's car, and Megumi and Sano were about to leave. Sanosuke leaned heavily on the doorframe. "Bro… My man… Hey, Aoshi…" he said, looking past the blue eyed man, addressing the karaoke machine, his words slurred.

Aoshi followed him into the front room, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow while he waited for his friend to make sense. "Yes?"

"Her… What about whatsherface…What about…" Sano waved his arms sluggishly and made a face. "Weasel-girl. Yeah. Her…?"

"Misao is asleep."

"Does she need a ride?" Megumi let Sano lean on her.

"She can stay here." Aoshi's austere face softened. "She's asleep. I do not want to wake her."

Megumi winked. "Su-ure." Aoshi gave her a _look_. "Joking, joking!"

"Hm."

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks for having us Aoshi-san! Have a nice night! Morning. Time. Whatever the fuck." Megumi headed out the door, slapping Sano's hands away. "Oi! Hands off the ass. You'll get some later."

"Y'know… Megumi… I love ya… Yeah… I really do… You're the… Best thing that happened to me…" he sniffed. "Without you… I dunno how I'd live…"

"Now if you sounded like that when you weren't drunk off your ass…"

Aoshi let out a breath of relief. He stepped back into the living room, face-palming at the mess that had been created. He half-heartedly picked up a napkin, and pushed the karaoke machine into the corner, sighing and acknowledging that he would clean up the next day…

Then he heard a sleepy moan and a crash, as Misao fell off the couch. The young woman looked at him, rubbing her eyes and looking around blearily. "Aoshi-sama? Where's… Where's everybody?"

"They all went home."

Misao blinked, then giggled. "Oh yeah… We're alone... Aren't we…?"

"…" Aoshi was not sure how to respond to that. "…Yes?"

"Help me up, please…" she managed, focusing her eyes on him. "I can't really stand…"

He crouched down next to Misao, reaching for her arm to help her stand.

"Eheheh…" Misao's shirt slipped off one shoulder as she sat on the floor, looking up at Aoshi and taking his hand. "You know… Aoshi-sama… I've…" She blushed a little, but pulled at her shirt, the buttons coming undone and the shirt falling to the floor. Her braid had come undone and her hair streamed down her shoulders. "The thing is… I've always…" She looked down, then looked him straight in the eye, leaning forward, a bra strap also slipping off her shoulder.

"…Misao you're very drun-" she put a warm hand over his mouth.

"You know… I really love you… Aoshi-sama…" Aoshi's eyes widened and he drew a sharp breath in, pulling away. She was so inviting… Sitting there like that… But she was more drunk than ever before, and she was not thinking properly. "Misao, all that aside, you really need sleep now. Let's get you to bed." He said gently.

She sank down to her knees, both straps off her shoulders. "I… I don't understand… Aoshi-sama… Are you disgusted by me…? I'm like this, so why won't you touch me…? I love you so much… But you don't… do you…" Tears began to fall down her cheeks, and she drew an arm across her eyes. "You've never…"

"Misao you're drunk. What you feel is-"

She sniffed, her unfocussed eyes challenging. "Come on… Yeah… Aoshi-sama… Tell me how _I_ feel…"

His jaw tightened. "I am not about to take advantage of a drunk woman." He wanted her. He loved her. He truly did. But now was not the place or the time. She was drunk and she was not thinking. He would not do anything she would regret. Misao was innocent. Young. Beautiful. He did not want to hurt her. And yet he had anyway.

Misao cried openly now. "I've always… Why am I not good enough for you, Aoshi-sama…? You still see me as a kid, don't you…?" She sniffed a little. Sobs built up, and she tried to force them down.

He winced, hating to see her hurt like this, by him, no less. "Misao… Never say you are not good enough… You are too good…" He wrapped his arms around her, and she collapsed against him, not holding back her crying anymore. She was so fragile, her bare shoulders shaking with every sob. He never wanted to let go, instead wanting to comfort her and tell her that it was alright. That he loved her.

They stayed like that for a long time, he with his arms around her, her weeping gradually becoming softer, clutching at the fabric of his shirt and her forehead resting on his chest. Soon enough, she stopped crying and her breathing slowed, having fallen asleep.

Aoshi stood up with a sigh, lifting her into his arms and carried her down the hallway and into his room. He grabbed one of his shirts from the dresser, buttoning it up over her prone form, and softly covered her under the blankets.

The tears had dried on her cheeks and her face was peaceful now. Aoshi felt a twinge in his heart as she softly smiled in her sleep, turning onto her side. With another sigh, he brushed the hair off her face and left the room.

Misao woke with a killer headache to the irritating sound of a vacuum cleaner, with no recollection of the night before. She gave a sleepy groan and turned to her side, wincing at the light that showed through the curtains. Then she sat bolt upright.

This was not her room. This was not her bed. And this most certainly was not her shirt. It was way too big, for one, and it was a man's shirt. The throbbing in her head intensified behind her left eye and she had a bitter taste in her mouth. But for the amount that she had drunk, her hangover was very mild.

She remembered the beginning of Sano's graduation party when she tried singing. She remembered the middle, where she had gotten tired and fallen asleep. But she also fuzzily remembered Sanosuke and Megumi leaving together… And then… What had happened then? She felt the white fabric of the collared shirt, and then pulled it tighter around herself, realizing it smelled like _him_. A mixture of green tea and classy cologne that she couldn't remember the name of.

Misao put a hand to her mouth her eyes widening with realization. This morning she had woken in Aoshi's bed. Wearing his shirt. And she could not remember anything from the night before. A blush filled her face. She hadn't _slept_ with him, had she? This was a classic movie scene. Oh god.

Misao clutched at her forehead with both hands. A thing like _this_ happened, and she didn't even remember! Damn it! She groaned, kicking her legs off the edge of the bed, wishing that she _did_ remember. Because there was the possibility that she had not, in fact, slept with him. And she was simply curious. Had she said anything? Done anything?

Padding barefoot out of his room and into the living room she yawned, wincing at the buzzing in the back of her skull and the pain that the light from the open windows gave her. She could hear Aoshi in the kitchenette, probably making more tea. The vacuum cleaner sound had stopped, and Misao surveyed the damage from the night before.

The karaoke machine was gone and the floor had been cleaned off. Dirty glasses and plates had been piled onto the coffee table, ostensibly to be taken care of later. A window had been opened to let some fresh air in. Misao's phone lay, forgotten on the edge of the table next to a half-eaten bowl of Kit-Kats. Misao absentmindedly ate one, then continued on to the kitchenette. "Hey, Aoshi-sama." She said, her voice slightly hoarse.

His back was to her as he opened a tin of tea leaves, adjusting the heat on the burner where a kettle steamed, about to boil. Aoshi's muscles tensed when he heard her voice. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?" he asked stiffly.

"Yeah!" she winced at the loudness of her own voice "Well, kind of. I got a bit of a hangover, and I can't remember much from last night."

"…" Aoshi said nothing, glad for the lapse of memory on her part.

He turned to look at her, wrapped in one of his shirts, only a few of the middle buttons done up. The sleeves covered her hands, and the hem went lower than her shorts. Her hair was adorably messy, streaming across her shoulders in slight waves, out of its usual braid. Misao blushed under his scrutiny, looking down. "Um, I was wonder-"

"You-"

They had both started at the same time. Misao bit her lip. "Sorry."

His icy eyes softened. "It's alright. What is it?"

"What happened after the par-?" she blushed. And his eyes widened for a split second. "Actually never mind." She said quickly.

"Hm." Aoshi regained his composure. "Do you want any tea?"

"Yes please."

He nodded as the water started to boil. Misao stood on her tiptoes to get two cups from the top shelf of the cupboard, but she was too short. Her fingertips barely brushed the edge of the shelf.

"Tch." She felt Aoshi come up behind her, and reach over the top of her head to get the two cups that Misao was reaching for.

She blushed at their proximity, and was glad he could not see her face. "Thank you, Aoshi-sama…"

"Aa."

Misao watched him pour out the tea for the two of them, studying the look of concentration on his face. He handed a cup to her, and she took it, their hands brushing each others. Misao ignored that feeling and proceeded to chug her tea.

Aoshi, on the other hand, slowly drank and savored the small amount in his cup. He looked more relaxed now, ice-blue eyes softening. Misao watched him, still wondering what had happened. He glanced up, and Misao blushed, caught staring. "Something on my face?"

"N-no I was just…" she trailed off, blushing even more. "I was… just wondering where my shirt went! Because I'm not wearing it!" she concluded chirpily, with fake cheerfulness to distract from the awkwardness of the situation, and accidentally making it even more awkward.

He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it. "Ah." He said finally.

Misao's eyes widened. She spoke with manic cheerfulness, realizing that she had to stop talking, and realizing also that she was digging her grave even deeper with every word. "Yeah! Because I woke up this morning in Aoshi-sama's bed, and I was wearing Aoshi-sama's shirt so it wasn't there, and I was all like, 'Where's my shirt?' And then I was all like, 'Oh, Aoshi-sama might know!' Yeah!" She stopped, realizing what she sounded like. "Ahh. Ha. Um, actually-"

Aoshi's jaw tightened. He nodded, interrupting her before she could say anything else awkward. "On the couch." He set down his teacup.

"Oh! Right! Thank you, Aoshi-sama!" Misao called, running out of the room. She found her shirt on the couch, laundered and folded carefully. _Something_ had happened last night, she was sure of it, but she wasn't sure if it turned out in her favor. Misao sat down on the couch, knowing that she couldn't really ask anyone.

Then, she saw her phone on the edge of the coffee table. She had recorded Sano's singing last night and forgotten to turn it off, hadn't she? Aoshi stepped into the living room. "I'm going out for a while to get food. You can just relax here. Or call someone to pick you up."

"Yeah!" As soon as she heard the door slam, Misao was halfway across the room at the table. She turned it on, and read the notification that popped up. _This video has taken up the remaining 50% of your memory. Do you still want to watch?_ Misao clicked yes, hoping that it was the right one.

It was. She turned down the volume, wincing. The first hour of the video was mostly dominated by Sanosuke's terrible drunk singing which she skipped through. Then Katsu accidentally knocked it off the table and put it back guiltily. More terrible singing. Then she heard something she recognized. She hit play, hearing Megumi's voice again. _"Does she need a ride?"_

 _"She can stay here. She is asleep. I do not want to wake her."_

 _"Su-ure."_ Misao could hear Megumi and Sano go off, and she could hear them talking, but couldn't make out the words. She watched Aoshi come into the room, look around, and tiredly sigh. Then she saw herself fall off the couch with a grunt. The table shook, and so did the camera-phone.

Misao saw herself drunkenly try to seduce Aoshi, and saw how he had responded. How he had comforted her and carried her to his room. Then saw how he came back into the living room and threw himself tiredly onto the couch, cursing himself, and burying his fist in the upholstery with an exasperated punch.

Now she understood. She yawned, pressing play again. Misao curled up on the couch once more, clutching her phone. Already asleep, she accidentally pressed loop with a sleepy twitch.

And that is how Aoshi found her when he came back. He opened the door and almost dropped his bag of groceries. "Why am I not good enough for you, Aoshi-sama…?" he heard. "You still see me as a kid, don't you…?" Dropping the bags at the entrance, he rushed into the living room, only to find Misao asleep on the couch, clutching her phone, still wearing his shirt.

He sat down next to her, absentmindedly stroking her hair. Aoshi put the video on pause, and got up to find a blanket for her from the linen closet. When he returned, she was already awake, a bright blush coloring her face. "I'm sorry, Aoshi-sama. That was kinda… Lame? Um… Awkward?" she didn't make eye contact.

He lay the blanket on the armrest, sitting down next to her. "It is alright." His eyes softened as they took her in, rumpled shirt, messy hair and sleepy eyes. "You should probably sleep some more, seeing as every moment you are awake is painful."

"It wasn't- I mean it wasn't like anything- Y'know- Like- I'm still- I was drunk anyway-" Misao's face was even brighter red.

He looked amused. "I was talking about your hangover."

"Ah. Right." She winced. "Um. Haha. Yes. Indeed."

He threw the blanket over her, effectively preventing Misao from saying anything else awkward, and eliciting a laugh. "Go to sleep. You'll feel better." He said.

She smiled. "Sure." Misao closed her eyes and curled up under the blanket, the smile still resting on her lips. When a gentle hand began to smooth her hair, she resisted the urge to gasp, and only smiled wider, biting her lip, her cheeks reddening, feeling as if her heart was going to soar out of her chest.

Aoshi saw her widening smile and pink cheeks, and shook his head gently with an inaudible snort, tucking her hair behind her ear. He remembered the groceries left by the door and stood up, gently kissing her on the forehead.

As he turned and went into the entryway, he heard Misao shoot bolt upright and gasp, trying to suppress a squeal. When he walked by her again, his arms heaping with plastic bags she was laying stretched out with a hand on her forehead, pretending to snore loudly, her eyes shut tightly and her face bright pink.

He stuffed everything in the tiny fridge methodically, making sure everything fit, something that Misao liked to call 'Vegetable Tetris'.

He went back into the living room, and found Misao pinching her arm. "I am not asleep. I was not asleep. I am _so_ awake now. Holy shit." She was telling herself out loud.

"Misao?" he raised an eyebrow.

" _Ahaha._ Hello, Aoshi-sama. I don't think I can fall asleep any time soon. Feelin' a _bit_ too awake for that!" She began to hum and fumble with the blanket, trying fold it up. "Tum tee tum tee tum…!"

Misao's heart was pounding, and she resisted the urge to laugh from sheer joy. She might be the Queen of Awkwardness, but she was a _happy_ Queen of Awkwardness. She _was_ slightly annoyed at herself for showing her extreme excitement. But there was definitely a good reason. Oh indeed there _was_.

"If you're not going to sleep, I'll drive you home. Okina will be annoyed."

"Oh! Yeah!" Misao exclaimed. "I forgot all about that!"

"Indeed."

Misao folded up the blanket, setting on the armrest of the couch and jumping up. "I'll go get in the car-"

"I would suggest putting on your own shirt first."

Looking down, Misao realized that, indeed, she was still in Aoshi's shirt. "Shit! Yeah! Right." Grabbing her own shirt, she sprinted down the hallway. "Lemme just get changed for a moment!" she threw over her shoulder.

Aoshi nodded.

Walking back up the hallway, Misao massaged her temples, trying to get rid of her headache. It had lessened since the morning, but it was still bothersome. She yawned and stretched, then yawned again. Why was she tired? She literally had the shock of her life! What _was_ that, though? She was not sure but whatever it was-

"Close your eyes." Aoshi's calm voice interrupted her thoughts.

Misao complied, wondering what-

Once more, her thoughts were interrupted as a feather-light kiss was placed on her forehead, then her cheek, dangerously close to the corner of her mouth, and one on the other cheek closer to her jawline. "I thought you said you weren't tired." She didn't open her eyes but she could hear the amused note in his voice.

Misao blinked. "N-not any more. That's for sure."

"Hm."

The car ride was quiet, but comfortably so, and Aoshi's Vivaldi playlist was the main source of noise, after Misao's road rage. As Aoshi pulled into the parking lot of the Aoiya, Misao looked at him coyly. Then, still maintaining eye contact she pulled off a very fake yawn and looked at Aoshi expectantly. "I'm su-uper sleepy." She added, unconvincingly.

Aoshi raised an eyebrow and Misao blushed. Then leisurely and deliberately, he leaned over and kissed her gently and slowly on the mouth. "I was wondering when you'd do that." He said, the faint vestiges of a smile around the corners of his mouth.


End file.
